Twilight: Hime Style
by wakamama
Summary: Was it those eyes? The way she moves? The way she talks? The way she makes me feel? No, it was love at first sight. Disclaimer: I don't own Mai Hime nor do I own Twilight or Mai Otome.
1. Preface

Hey! Here's another one of my fanfiction. I get bored very easily so I always create new fanfics. Hahaha. I will go back to my other ones and finish it. Okay this is a ShizNat one. I'm not really certain about the title so it might change later on. Hmm...what else? Oh yea! Not sure if you guys know but there is another fanfic in my LJ. It's called music to my ears. That fanfic I will only post in my LJ so go there and check it out!

Disclamer: I don't own Mai Hime or Mai Otome

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It was cold when I gained consciousness. I slowly opened my eyes and all I saw was darkness. I was in a small room; the only light it had was the moon shining through the small window. I try to get up but I couldn't find the strength. I laid there trying to figure out where I was. I then remember the event that had happened to me. I remember hungry gray eyes and that sadistic smile on its face, when suddenly I felt a presence. I felt eyes staring at me. I turned my head slowly afraid that it might be those eyes again. I saw one of the most beautiful I thing in the world, a pair of emerald eyes, staring at me. We stared at each other, not moving, not making a sound. Before I knew it the owner of the eyes was next to me. Those eyes, there so beautiful I can't seem to look away. I stare deep into those eyes and I could see sorrow and pain. I reached my hand to touch those eyes, but I couldn't. The own of those eyes saw my attempt to touch her, she bend down and tears started to form in my eyes. "Natsuki." I whispered, not knowing if she heard me. She reached her hand out and cupped my face wiping the tears with her thumb. "I'm sorry. So sorry." Was all she said. I could feel myself getting tired and wanted to go to sleep. I smiled at Natsuki and said "Ara, why are you sorry?" She didn't move or make a sound; she just stared at me with those eyes. Then she turned her head around. "Is it time?" she asked someone in the darkness. I tried to see who she was talking to but I was getting tired and sleepy. "Yes, we should start." Said the familiar voice. I smiled at Natsuki knowing what was going to happen. Natsuki turned back to me and I saw hesitation in her eyes. Finally I found a little strength and held her hand. "It's okay. I love you." Natsuki smiled and kissed me. She then turned to the other person in the room. "Are you sure there's no other option?" I couldn't see well in the darkness but I knew that that person nodded. Natsuki turned back to me staring at me with seriousness. "Are you sure you want this? I really don't want you to live your life in the darkness, just for me." I can hear the seriousness in her voice. I squeezed her hand. "I love you. I want to be with you forever." Natsuki kissed me again. "Then I guess we should start." I finally lost all my strength and closed my eyes. The last thing I remember was those beautiful emerald eyes and wonder if I will ever see them again.

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A/N: So how you guys like it? It's the preface not chapter 1. Well, hope you guys enjoyed it. Oh please go to my LJ and read Music to my ears! I really want to know what you guys think about it! Anyways Comments please! Chapter 1 is soon to come!  



	2. Chapter 1

Sorry it took awhile for me to post chapter 1 of this. But thanks for waiting so patiently! Hope you guys will enjoy this! Remember I own nothing of Mai Hime. ENJOY!

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My mother drove me to the docks. The windows rolled down, A/C was on. It was 95 degrees in Kyoto. I was wearing a sleeveless, white eyelet lace. I stared out the rolled down windows, thinking about where I'm going. I was going to a small island where you can only reach it by riding a boat. It was a secluded little island called Fuuka Island. It was Fuuka Island that my mother left this place with me when I was only 3 years old. It was in this island that I'd been compelled to spend a month every summer until I was 13. 

During that summer I couldn't stand being there anymore so instead for the past 4 summers, my father, Satoshi, came to Kyoto for 3 weeks to spend time with me instead.

I didn't hate Fuuka Island, I just couldn't stand how secluded it was, and strangely how most of the time the weather was gloomy, and how little variety of tea flavors that was available there. That was the worst part. I remember during those summers I spend I always had to bring tea with me or have my mother send some whenever I ran out. I loved Kyoto. I loved how I had access to many flavor of tea, and how spacious it was. I love how the weather wasn't always gloomy like at Fuuka Island.

"Shizuru," my mom said to me-the last of a thousand times- before I got onto the boat. "You don't have to do this."

My mom looks like me, except for my crimson eyes, which I inherited from my father. I felt a spasm of panic as I stared at her eyes. How could I leave my loving, caring, happy-going mother to be by herself? Of course she had Ryu now, so everything would be okay.

"I want to go," I lied. I was always a good liar but I'd been saying this one lie so frequently that I didn't know if I was convincing enough.

"Tell Satoshi I said hi."

"I will."

"I'll see you soon," she insisted. "You can come home whenever you want, I will come back as soon as you need me."

I could see in her eyes the sacrifice behind that promise.

"Don't worry okaa-san. It'll be great. I love you mom."

She hugged me tightly for a minute, and then I got on the boat. And she was gone. It was a four-hour boat ride from Kyoto to Fuuka Island. Riding the boat didn't bother me; the car ride with father, though, I was a little worried about.

Father had been fairly nice about the whole thing. He seemed excited that I was coming to live with him for the first time with any degree of permanence. He already got me registered for high school and was going to help me get a car.

It was a little awkward with father. I knew he was more than a little confused by my decision; I hadn't made a secret of my distaste for Fuuka Island. When the boat finally arrived at Fuuka Island, the sky was grayish. I didn't see this as an omen, since it was like this most of the time.

Father was waiting for me by his car. Father gave me an awkward one armed hug when I stumble my way off the boat.

"It's good to see you again, Shizuru," he said, smiling at me. "You haven't changed much except you grew again. How's Kyoko?"

"Mom's fine. It's good to see you, too, Dad."

I only had a few bags. Most of my clothes were too permeable for Fuuka.

"I found a good car for you, really cheap."

"What kind of car?" I was suspicious of the way he said 'good car for you.'

"Well, it's an old mustang."

"Where did you find it?"

"Do you remember Nakatsu Nanjiro down at the Shinko Lake?" Shinko Lake is a tiny area where the Shinto priest was.

"Yes."

"His son got into some trouble and sold his car to me cheap."

"Oh." 'Oh' was all I can manage to say. I didn't know whether to say 'Thank you' or just keep quiet. So I just nodded. "How cheap was cheap?"

"Well, honey, I bought for you as a home coming gift." Father peeked sideways at me with a hopeful expression.

"You didn't need to do that, Dad. I was going to buy myself a car."

"I don't mind, I want you to be happy here." Father was looking ahead at the road when he said this. Father wasn't comfortable with expressing his emotions out loud. I inherited that from him.

"That's really nice, Dad. Thank you. I really appreciate it."

After that we made a few comments on the weather, which was gloomy, and then we fell silent. I stared out the window in silence. It was beautiful, of course; everything was green, the trees, their trunks covered with moss. We soon arrived at father's house. He still lived in the small, two-bedroom house that he'd bought with my mom in the early days of their marriage. When I got out I saw my new car. The red mustang was parked in front of the house. I loved it.

"Wow, Dad, I love it! Thanks!"

"I'm glad you like it."

It took only one trip to get all my stuff upstairs. I got the west bedroom that faced out over the front yard. The room was familiar; it had belonged to me since I was born, the wooden floor and the plain white walls. These were all a part of my childhood. The only change father ever made was switching the crib for a bed and adding a desk. One the desk was a computer with wireless internet. This was a stipulation from my mother, so that we could stay in touch easily. The rocking chair from my baby days was still in the corner. I headed to the bathroom but saw that the halls looked longer than the last time I came.

"I expanded the house. Added two bedrooms and two bathrooms."

I turned around and father was smiling at me. From the front of the house you couldn't tell that the house expanded more. Father led me to my bathroom.

"I couldn't bring myself to change the whole house, so I left that part the same." He said while looking at the old part of our house.

It was kind of strange, like walking into the twilight zone. Half of the house was just as I remembered the other half so new to me. I walked back to my room forgetting that I needed to use the bathroom. I started to unpack some of my things. One good thing about father was he doesn't hover around me like my mother. It was nice to be alone, not to have to smile and look pleased; a relief to stare dejectly out the window and saw it was raining.

Fuuka High School had a frightening total of 347 - well now 348- students; there were more than eight hundred people in my junior class alone back in Kyoto. All the kids here had grown up together; their grandparents had been toddlers together. I would be the new girl from Kyoto.

When I finished putting all my clothes away I took out my bathroom necessities and went to my bathroom to clean up. I took a shower and put on my sleep ware. I looked at my reflection in the mirror, there I saw someone I hardly recognized. I didn't relate well to people my age. That night I didn't sleep well. The constant whooshing of the rain and wind across the roof wouldn't fade into the background. I pulled my blanket over my head trying to block out the noise, later I added the pillow too. But I couldn't fall asleep until after midnight.

Breakfast with father was a quiet event. Father wished me good luck on my first day of school and left for work. Father owned a company, although he doesn't seem like it; with the way the house looks, and the way he does things. After he left I sat in my chair examining this small kitchen, with its dark paneled walls, bright yellow cabinets, and white linoleum floor. Nothing was changed. My mother had painted the cabinets 18 years ago in an attempt to bring some sunshine into the house. I got up and put the dished into the sink and went back to my room to grab my book bag. I got down to the living room; I saw pictures of my mom and dad when they were married on the mantle of the fireplace. Father never really gotten over mother.

I didn't want to stay home any longer so I left. When I got out it was drizzling, but not enough to soak me through completely. I got into my new car and started the engine. It roared to life.

Finding the school wasn't difficult, though I'd never been there before. The school was big considering only 348 students attending. I parked in front of the school not sure if it was permitted. I got out and headed toward the door that said Main Office.

Inside, it was brightly lit. The office was fairly large with rolls of tables where I'm assuming that teachers sit to grade papers or something. I walked up to one of the teachers that was there, an afro looking man wearing glasses, and fairly large. The afro looking man looked up.

"Can I help you?"

"My name is Fujino Shizuru. I'm a transfer student." I informed him, and saw the immediate awareness in his eyes.

"Of course," he said. He looked through a stack of documents trying to find the one he was looking for. "I have your schedule right here, and here's map of the school."

He went through my classes with me, highlighting the best way to reach to each them on the map. He then gave me a piece of paper which I have to get all my teachers to sign and bring it back at the end of the school day. He wished me good luck, like my father, on my first day in school. I smiled back at him and left.

I went back into my car; I saw other students were starting to arrive. I looked at the map in my car, memorizing it; hopefully I wouldn't have to walk around with it in front of my face. I put everything into my book bag and got out of my car.

Immediately when I got out people were staring at me. I didn't mind at all, even back in Kyoto I had many admirers who would follow me wherever I would go. I started walking remembering the route that afro looking man highlighted for me for my first class.

The classroom wasn't large nor was it small. Half of the class was already filled with students. I walked to my teacher, a tall, balding man, and handed him the paper that afro man gave me. He looked at the paper and smiled knowingly.

"Okay, Fujino-san, I'm your Trigonometry teacher, Yamaguchi-sensei. Please wait here so I can introduce you to the class."

I smiled and waited till class started. When the bell finally rang and most of seats were filled now, Yamaguchi-sensei clapped his hands to gain their attention.

"Mina! We have a new transfer student today." He then gestured to me.

I smiled my 'winning' smile and I heard a few girls giggling. "Ohyaoo Gozaimasu. I'm Fujino Shizuru. I came from Kyoto. Dozoo Yorushiku Onegaishimasu." I then bowed.

"Okay, good. You will be sitting over there next to Sayuri Ichinose."

I walked over to my seat and smiled.

"Hi! I'm Sayuri Ichinose, you can call me Sayuri."

"Hi, I'm Shizuru Fujino."

I took my seat and opened my textbook. It was the same one in my old school but I was further ahead. I wonder if mother will send me my old work, or if she would think that I was cheating. I thought about my mother while Mr. Yamaguchi was talking, and the bell finally rang. I gathered my stuff and got up.

"Fujino-san, where's your next class?"

"I believe that would be History with Sugiura-sensei."

"Oh, I'm going that way; I could show you the way."

I smiled and a noticed a blush oh Sayuri-san's face. Well, she's probably going to be in my future fan club soon. "Thank you Sayuri-san."

We got our stuff and headed to our next class. People were staring at me with admiring gazes. I looked down at the girl accompany me to my next class, who was blushing.

"So, this is a lot different from Kyoto, huh?"

"Yes it is."

"The weather there isn't as gloomy there, is it?"

"No, most of the time it is sunny."

"Aww, I wonder what that must be like."

"Sunny."

Sayuri-san walked me to my class, trying to start a long conversation with me. She stopped when we arrived at my destination.

"Well, good luck," she said and I smiled at her making her blush more. I walked into the class and handed the paper to the teacher. Same thing happened in my first period. Introduction then go sit in my seat. After 3 classes I started to recognize some people in each class. There would be at least one person brave enough to talk to me and ask questions about Kyoto and how I like it here at Fuuka Island. I answered all their questions ending each with a smile making them blush.

One girl sat next to me in both English and Literature, and she walked with me to the cafeteria for lunch. She was tiny, compare to my 162cm height. If I remember correctly her name is Yayoi Ota. We sat at the end of a full table with several of her friends, which some I recognized. Her friends seem impressed with her bravery to talk to me. The girl from my Trigonometry, Sayuri, waved at Yayoi and her other friends from across the room.

It was there, sitting in the cafeteria, answering questions, that I first saw them. They were sitting in the corner of the cafeteria, as far away from where I sat possible in here. There were about 10 or 11 of them. They weren't talking, and they weren't eating their food. They weren't gawking at me like the rest of the school was either, but it wasn't that that caught my attention. They didn't look anything alike. There were 7 girls and 3 boys. There was a busty orange head with purple eyes, a small girl with braids with golden yellow eyes clinging onto her, a busty blond haired girl with brownish eyes, and short brownish hair girl wearing glasses with yellowish eyes, a greenish hair girl with a little reddish eyes, a short brown hair and light brown eyes girl sitting closely to one of the guys sitting there and there was a long blue-haired female with emerald eyes. There were 3 guys; a blond guy with brown eyes, black haired boy sitting closely to the girl with the short brown and the light brown eyes and there was a brown haired boy with purple eyes.

Although they all look different, they were all exactly alike. Every one of them had chalky pale skin. They all have different eye colors, but they all look like the same shade of darkness in them. They also had dark shadows under those eyes, as if they didn't get enough sleep. But all those were not the reason I couldn't look away. I stared because their faces, so different, so similar, were all devastatingly, inhuman beautiful. It was a little hard to decide who was the most beautiful, maybe the busty orange haired or the blue-haired girl.

They all looking away from each other, away from the other students, away from anything in particular as far as I can tell. As I watched, the girl with the short brown hair and the light brown eyes and the guy with black hair rose with their tray, unopened drink, unbitten apple, and dumped their tray and headed to the door. My eyes went back to the others who didn't change.

"Who are they?" I asked Yayoi. She looked toward the direction I was looking at. The girl with the long blue hair and emerald turned and looked at Yayoi as if she heard me. She looked at Yayoi just a fraction of a second, and then her dark emerald eyes flickered to mine.

She looked away quickly with her face held nothing of interest. Yayoi giggled.

"That's Kuga Natsuki, the one that looked away. The orange head is Mai Tokiha, the girl clinging on to her is Mikoto Minagi, the green hair girl is Akira Okuzaki, the girl with the glasses is Yukino Kikukawa, the busty blond is Haruka Suzushiro, the blond guy is Tate Yuuichi, and boy with brownish hair is Takumi Tokiha, and the two couple that just left was Akane Higurashi and Kazuya Kurauchi. They all live together with our school nurse Yoko Sagisawa." She said these under her breathe.

I glanced at the blue haired girl, who was now picking at her sandwich with her long pale fingers. Her mouth was moving very quickly, her perfect lips barely opening. The other still looking away and yet I feel like she was talking to them.

"They are very good looking."

Yayoi giggled some more. "Yes, they are but some of them are together. Akane and Kazuya, Mai and Tate, Akira and Takumi, and finally Yukino and Haruka. And they live together too."

"Mai and Takumi are related?"

"Yea, Akira and Takumi and Mikoto are in Middle school Division and the rest are in High school same age as us. Sagisawa-sensei adopted them all, though they all kept their last names."

"That's nice of her to adopt all of them."

"Yea, she is nice and young. I think she can't have a kid, that's why she adopted them all."

Throughout this whole conversation, my eyes flickered again and again to that table where the strange family sat.

"Did they always live here in Fuuka Island?" I asked. Surely I would have noticed the on one of my summers here.

"No, they just moved here 2 years ago from Tokyo."

As I examined them, the blue haired girl looked up and met my gaze, this time with evident curiosity in her expression. I looked away starting to feel a blush creep up on my face.

"So, only Kuga-san and Minagi-san are single."

"Yea, Minagi-san is…very innocent and Kuga-san, well…She doesn't date."

After a few more minutes, all of them got up and left. The lunch bell rang and everyone got up and headed to their next class. I looked at my schedule and saw my next class was Biology 2 with Morimoto-sensei. Two of my new acquaintances whose names were Chie Harada and Aoi Senou, had the same Biology class together. When we got to class Chie and Aoi went to their seat at a black-topped lab table, they were sitting together. I looked around and most of the table were filled but one. Next to the center aisle, I recognized Natsuki Kuga by her unusual hair, sitting to that single open seat.

As I walked to the teacher to introduce myself and get my paper signed, I was watching her. The teacher told me to take my seat next to Kuga. Just as went to my seat, she suddenly went rigid in her seat. She stared at me again, meeting my eyes, with the strangest expression on her face. It was hostile, furious. I looked away and sat down, bewildered by the antagonistic stare she'd given me.

I didn't need to look at her as I sat my book on the table, but I saw her posture change from the corner of my eye. She was leaning away from me, sitting on the extreme edge of her chair and averting her face like she smelled something bad. Inconspicuously, I sniffed my hair. It smelled like green tea, my favorite shampoo. I let my hair fall over my right shoulder. Morimoto-sensei was giving a lecture on cellular anatomy, something I'd already studied back in Kyoto. I took notes carefully anyways, always looking down.

During the whole class, she never relaxed her stiff position on the edge of her chair, sitting as far away from me as possible. I could see her hand on her right leg was clenched into a fist, tendons standing out under her pale skin. Her shirt was pulled up to her elbows, and her forearm was surprisingly muscular beneath her light skin.

The class seems to drag on longer than the others. Was it because the day was coming to and end, or was it that I'm waiting for her tight fist to loosen? She never relaxed at all. What was wrong with her? She looked like she wasn't breathing at all. I peeked over at her one more time, and saw her glaring at me again, her dark emerald eyes full of revulsion. I just stared at her wondering what her problem was. The bell rang loudly, making me jump, and Natsuki Kuga was out of her seat. Fluidly she rose, she was shorter than I was, probably 160cm, her back to me, and she was out the door before anyone else was out of their seat.

I sat in my seat, staring blankly after her. Those cold dark emerald eyes, so mysteries. I started to gather my things.

"What's your next class Fujino-san?" Aoi asked.

I looked up and saw Chie standing behind her with her cell phone out. Seeing as how Aoi was smiling at me, she obviously didn't think I smelled bad.

"I got Gym next."

"Oh, us too. Let's go."

I got up and left the class with Aoi and Chie. While we were walking Chie was still looking at her cell phone.

"Did you stab Kuga with a pencil or something? I've never seen her act like that before."

So I wasn't the only one who had noticed. And, apparently that wasn't Natsuki Kuga's usual behavior. I decided to play dumb.

"Oh? Was that the girl I sat next to in Biology?" I asked.

"Yes," Chie said. "She looked like she was in pain or something."

'Hmm' was all I could say. When we arrived in Gym, Obana-sensei found a gym uniform for me but didn't force me to wear it today. Obana-sensei said I could sit out today and just observe the other students. I watched 2 soccer games running at the same time.

After class I walked back to the main office to turn in the paper with the teacher's signatures. I opened the door and Natsuki Kuga stood next to the afro guy. She didn't appear to notice the sound of my entrance. I stood behind her waiting for her to finish so I can just turn this in and leave. She was arguing with him in a low, attractive voice. I quickly picked up what they were saying. She was trying to trade her Biology class to another time.

The door opened again, and a girl walked in and placed a note in a basket and just walked out. Natsuki Kuga's back stiffened and turned slowly to glare at me- her face was absurdly beautiful- with piercing, hate-filled eyes. I smiled at her, but there was no reaction at all.

"Never mind then." She said hastily in a voice like velvet. "I can see that it's impossible. Thank you so much for **your****help** Sakomizu." And she turned on her heel without another look at me, and disappeared out the door.

I walked over to the afro guy and gave him the signed paper.

"So, how was it?" asked the afro guy.

"It was fine." I left thinking about the blue haired girl and those cold eyes. I had a smile on my face while I walked back to my car. I couldn't stop thinking about her at all. I've never seen anyone so…intriguing. I got into my car driving home with my first real smile on my face on Fuuka Island.

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A/N: So how was it? You guys liked it? Hope so please comment on this I enjoy reading your comments wither its bad or good I will enjoy it either way. Chapter 2 will come as soon as I finish it. So please wait. Oh and remember to comment! 


	3. Chapter 2

Here's another chapter! I'm trying my best to update as fast as possible. I hope you guys will enjoy this! Remember I own nothing of Mai Hime, although I wished I had.

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The next day was better and worse. 

It was better because when I got out of the house it wasn't raining yet, though the clouds were dense and opaque. It was better because I knew what to expect today at school. I went to my first period and sat at my seat next to Sayuri-san. After class Sayuri-san walked me to my next class. People were still looking at me and I can already see my fan-girls starting to form. I sat with the same people during lunch as yesterday.

It was worse because I was tired; I still couldn't sleep with the wind echoing around the house. It was worse because Kuga Natsuki wasn't at school today.

All morning I was looking forward to lunch, seeing those bizarre glares. I wanted to confront her and ask what her problem was. While I was lying sleepless in my bed, I was even imagining what I would say to her.

But when I walked into the cafeteria with Yayoi-san-sweeping my eyes trying to find her- I saw her 9 siblings were sitting together at the same table, and she was not with them.

Sayuri-san intercepted us and steered us to her table. I tried to listen to their conversation; I was terribly uncomfortable, waiting anxiously for the moment she would arrive. I hoped that she would notice me.

She didn't come, and as time passed I grew more and more anxious. I walked to Biology with Chie and Aoi hoping that she would be there sitting in her seat next to me. When I went in she wasn't there, either. I exhaled and went to my seat. Before the class started Aoi talked about an upcoming trip to the beach.

I was a little relieved that I had the desk to myself, that Natsuki Kuga was absent. I told myself that repeatedly. But I couldn't get rid of this nagging suspicion that I was the reason she wasn't here. Knowing that I'm affecting someone this strongly really puts a smile on my face.

When the school day was finally done, I walked swiftly out to the parking lot. It was crowded now with students. I got into my mustang and dug through my bag to make sure I have what I needed.

Last night I'd discovered that my father couldn't cook much besides grilled cheese and bacon. So I decided that I'd be assigned kitchen duty for the duration of my stay. I also found out that he didn't have much food in the house. So I had my shopping list and the cash, and I was on my way to the grocery store.

The mustang roared to life, ignoring the stares toward me, and backed carefully into a place in line of cars that were waiting to exit the parking lot. I saw Natuski Kuga's sibling getting into their own car. There was a silver Nissan 350z, a black Honda Civic, a black Honda Si, and a yellow Evolution VII. I was too mesmerized by their faces that I didn't notice they were all dressed exceptionally well; simply, but in clothes that subtly hinted at designed origins. It looks like they were all good looking and they had money.

They looked at my noisy mustang as I passed them but I kept my eyes straight forward. The store was just a few streets south from the school. While doing the shopping it kind of reminded me of when I did the shopping back in Kyoto. The store was big enough inside that I couldn't hear the tapping of the rain on the roof to remind me where I was.

When I got home, I unloaded all the groceries, stuffing them wherever I could find open space. I started making Katsudon for dinner. After I was done, I grabbed my book bag and headed to my room to start my homework. Before I get started I turned on my computer, changed into one of the kimonos I've brought. I noticed that I had received an e-mail from my mother.

_Shizuru,_

_Tell me how was your trip on the boat? Is it raining? I miss you already. I'm almost finished packing for Osaka, but I can't find my white blouse. Do you know where I put it? Ryo said hi._

_Mom_

I smiled knowing my mom was happy.

_Mom,_

_Everything is great. Of course it's raining. School isn't bad; it's almost like back in Kyoto except there are less people. I already met some nice people who I sit with during lunch. Your blouse is at the dry cleaners-you were supposed to pick it up Friday. Father bought me a mustang. Although it's old I love it. I hope you have fun with Ryo in Osaka. Tell Ryo I said hi. I miss you too, I love you._

_Shizuru_

I decided to read _The Pillow Book_-the novels were currently studying in Literature class. When I heard father came home I went downstairs to get the Katsudon ready.

"Shizuru?" my father called out when he heard me on the stairs.

"Hi, father, welcome home."

"Thank you." He hung up his coat and stepped out of his shoes and slipped on his slippers.

"What's for dinner?"

"Katsudon."

He seemed awkward standing in the kitchen doing nothing; he lumbered into the living room to read the paper. We were both comfortable that way. I made a salad while the Katsudon cooked, and set the table.

I called him in when dinner was ready, and he sniffed appreciatively as he walked into the kitchen.

"Smells wonderful, Shizuru."

"Thanks."

We ate in silence for a few minutes. It wasn't uncomfortable. Neither of us was bothered by quiet. In some ways, we were well suited for living together.

"So, how did you like school? Have you made any friends?" father asked as he was getting seconds.

"Well, I have a few classes with these two girls named Chie Harada and Aoi Senou. I sit with her friends at lunch. And there's another girl, Yayoi Ota, and another named Sayuri Ichinose. Everybody seems pretty nice." With one outstanding exception.

"Chie Harada and Aoi Senou are nice kids. Chie's and Aoi's father are partners. They both are in the media business."

"Do you know the Sagisawa family?"

"Dr.Sagisawa's family? Sure. Dr. Sagisawa's a great doctor."

"Isn't she our school nurse?"

"Yes, but she is also works at the hospital."

"What do you know about her kids?"

"The 10 kids she adopted? Not much, they're very polite kids. They stick together the way a family should, they go camping whenever the weather is nice. Just because they are new, there are people who are suspicious of them. Don't tell me you heard weird rumors about them? Don't believe them Shizuru they are very nice people."

"Father, I didn't hear any rumors about them. I just noticed that they kept to themselves. They're all very attractive."

"You should see the doctor. It's just a waste that she is single. A lot of doctors at the hospital have a hard time concentrating on their work with her around."

We lapsed back into the silence as we finished eating. He cleared the table while I started on the dishes. He went back to the newspaper, and after I finished washing the dishes I made two cups of tea. I set a cup down next to my father.

"Thank you Shizuru."

"Your Welcome."

I went back upstairs to my room to work on my math homework. I could feel a tradition in the making. That night it was finally quiet and I fell asleep quickly, exhausted.

The rest of the week was uneventful. I got used to the routine of my classes and my new fan club. Almost the whole school made up of my fan club. By Friday I was able to recognize almost all the students at school. Natsuki Kuga didn't come back to school. Everyday, I watched anxiously until the rest of the Sagisawa entered the cafeteria without her. When I don't see my blue-haired female I went back to the conversation with my friends. Mostly it centered on a trip to the Fuuka Beach in two weeks that Aoi was putting together. I was invited, and I had agreed to go, more out of politeness than desire.

By Friday I was perfectly comfortable entering my Biology II class, no longer anxious that Natsuki Kuga would be there. I tried not to thing about her, but I couldn't suppress my fascination toward the blue haired beauty.

My first weekend at Fuuka Island passed without incident. I cleaned the house while father was at work. I did drive to the library Saturday, but it was poorly stocked that I didn't bother getting a library card; I would have to make a visit downtown soon and find a good bookstore. The rain stayed soft over the weekend, quiet, so I was able to sleep well.

People greeted me in the parking lot Monday morning. I waved backed and smiled at everyone. There were some girls who squealed and some who blushed. It was colder this morning, but happily no raining. In Literature, we had a pop quiz on _The Pillow Book_. It was straightforward, very easy.

All in all, I was feeling a lot more comfortable that I had though I would feel by this point. More comfortable than I had ever expected to feel here. When I walked out of class with Yayoi, I could hear people shouting excitedly to each other.

"Wow," Yayoi said. "It's snowing."

I looked out and opened the window. The wind bit at my cheeks, my nose. Yayoi then pulled me outside. And then a big, squishy ball of dripping snow smacked into the back of her head. We both turned to see where it came from. I had my suspicions about Sayuri, who was walking away, her back turned to us. Yayoi bent over and began scraping together a pile of the white mush.

"I'll see you at lunch, okay?" I kept walking as I spoke. "Once people start throwing wet stuff, I go inside."

She just nodded, her eyes on Sayuri retreating figure. Throughout the morning, everyone chattered excitedly about the snow; apparently it was the first snowfall of the new year. I walked alertly to the cafeteria with Yayoi after English class. I glanced toward the table in the corner out of habit. And I froze where I stood. There were 10 people at the table. Yayoi pulled my arm.

"Shizuru-san? Are you okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine."

I waited in line with her to get her food. All I got was a cup of warm tea. Twice Yayoi asked me if I was alright. I told her it was nothing. I decided to just have one glance at the Sagisawa family's table. None of them were looking this way. They were laughing. Mai, Mikoto, Tate, Akane, Kazuko, and Takumi were wet from the snow. The rest were dry and made fun of the ones that were wet. They were enjoying the snowy day, just like everyone else- only they looked more like a scene from a movie than the rest of the students.

But, aside from the laughter and playfulness, there was something different, and I couldn't quite pinpoint what that different was. I examined Natsuki the most carefully. Her skin was less pale, the circles under his eyes much less noticeable. But there was something more. I pondered, staring, trying to isolate the change.

"Shizuru-san, what are you staring at?" Chie intruded, her eyes following my stare.

At that precise moment, her eyes flashed over to meet mine. I looked away quickly. I was sure in the instant our eyes met, that she didn't look harsh or unfriendly as she had the last time I'd seen her. She looked merely curious again, unsatisfied in some way.

"Natsuki Kuga is staring at you." Aoi giggled in my ear.

"Oh? Is she glaring at me again?"

"No," she said, sounding confused by my question. "Should she be?"

"I get this feeling she doesn't like me."

Chie snickered. "The Sagisawa don't notice anybody enough to like them. But she's still staring at you."

After we finished our lunch Aoi and Chie walked with me to out Biology class. When we left the cafeteria it was raining, washing all traces of the snow away. Once inside the class I saw Natsuki sitting there. I could feel a small smile on my face. Morimoto-sensei was walking around the room, distributing one microscope and box of slides to each table. Class didn't start for a few minutes, and the room was filled with random conversations going on at the same time. I took my seat next to Natsuki. This was now my chance to talk to her.

"Hello," I greeted with my smile.

She turned her head slowly toward me. Her hair was dripping wet, disheveled-even so, she looked like he'd just finished shooting a commercial for hair gel. Her dazzling face was more friendly, open, a slight smile on her flawless lips. But her eyes were careful.

"Hi."

"My name is Fujino Shizuru," I continued. "I didn't have a chance to introduce myself last week."

She looked at me with those eyes with seriousness before talking.

"I'm Natsuki Kuga, I already know who you are. It's mostly my fault you couldn't introduce yourself properly to me."

My mind was spinning with confusion. Had I made up the whole thing? She was perfectly polite now. I wanted to talk more before she thinks I'm done talking.

"How did you know who I was?"

She laughed softly, enchanting laugh.

"Oh, I think everyone knows your name. The whole town's been waiting for your arrival."

I blush a little when she smiled at me again. Morimoto-sensei started class at that moment. I tried to concentrate as he explained the lab we would be doing today. The slides in the box were out of order. Working as lab partners, we had to separate the slides of onion root tip cells into the phases of mitosis they represented and label them accordingly. In twenty minutes, he would be coming around to see who had it right. We weren't supposed to use our books.

"Get started," he commanded.

"Fujino, you want to go first?" Natsuki asked. I looked at her to see she was smiling a crooked smile so beautiful that I could only stare at her like an idiot. "Or I could start, if you wish." The smile faded; she was obviously wondering if I was mentally competent.

"No, I'll go ahead. Please call me Shizuru" I said, feeling a little heat around my cheeks.

"Then call me Natsuki."

I had already done this lab and I knew what I was looking for. It was easy. I snapped the first slide into place under the microscope and adjusted it quickly to 40X objective. I studied the slide briefly.

"Prophase." I said with confidence.

"Do you mind if I take a look?" she asked as I began to remove the slide. Her hand caught mine, to stop me, as she asked. Her fingers were ice-cold, like she'd been holding them in a snowdrift before class. But that wasn't why I jerked my hand away so quickly. When she touched me, it stung my hand as if an electric current had passed through us.

"I'm sorry," she muttered, pulling her hand immediately. However, she continued to reach for the microscope. I watched her as she examine the slide for an even shorter time than I had.

"Prophase," she agreed, writing it neatly in the first space on out worksheet. She swiftly switched out the first slide for the second, and then glanced at it cursorily.

"Anaphase," she murmured, writing it down as she spoke.

I kept my voice indifferent. "May I?"

She smirked and pushed the microscope to me. I looked through the eyepiece eagerly, only to be disappointed. Dang it, she was right.

"Slide three?" I held out my hand without looking at her.

She handed it to me; it seemed like she was being careful not to touch my skin again. I started to regret jerking my hand back like that.

"Interphase." I passed her the microscope before she could ask for it. She took a swift peek, and then nodded with agreement. I wrote it down on the worksheet.

We were finished before anyone else was close. I could see some of my classmates had their book open under the table. Which left me with nothing to do but try to not look at her…unsuccessfully. I glanced at her, and she was staring at me, that same inexplicable look of frustration in her eyes. Suddenly I identified that subtle difference in her face.

"Did you get contacts?" I asked.

She seemed puzzled by my unexpected question. "No."

"Oh," I mumbled. "I thought there was something different about your eyes."

She shrugged, and looked away.

In fact, I was sure there was something different. I vividly remembered the flat black color of her emerald eyes the last she glared at me-the color was striking against the background of her pale skin and her blue hair. Today, her eyes were completely different: a strange light emerald, but with the same sparkling tone. I didn't understand how that could be, unless she was lying for some reason about the contacts. I looked down. Her hands were clenched into hard fists again.

Morimoto-sensei came to our table then, to see why we weren't working. He looked over our shoulders to glance at the completed lab, and then stared more intently to check the answers.

"So, Kuga-san, didn't you think Fujino-san should get a chance with the microscopic?" Morimoto-sensei asked.

"No, she identified three out of five."

Morimoto-sensei looked at me now; his expression was skeptical.

"Have you done this before?" he asked.

I smiled. "Not with onion root."

"Whitefish blastula?"

"Yes."

He nodded. "Were you in an advance placement program in Kyoto?"

"Yes."

"Well," he said after a moment, "I guess its good you two are lab partners." He mumbled something else as he walked away.

"It's too bad about the snow, isn't it?" Natsuki asked. I had a feeling she was forcing herself to make small talk with me.

"Not really," I answered honestly, instead of pretending to be normal like everyone else. I was still trying to dislodge the feeling of suspicion, and I couldn't concentrate.

"You don't like the cold." It wasn't a question.

"Or the wet." I added.

"Fuuka must be difficult place for you to live," she mused.

"I can get use to it, somehow." I muttered the 'somehow' darkly.

She looked fascinated by what I said, for some reason I couldn't imagine. Her face was such a distraction that I tried not to look at it any more than courtesy absolutely demanded.

"Why did you come here then?"

No one had asked me that- not straight out like she did, demanding.

"It's complicated."

"I think I can keep up," she pressed.

I paused for a long moment, and then made the mistake of meeting her gaze. Her light emerald eyes confused me, and I answered without thinking.

"My mother got remarried," I said.

"That doesn't sound so complex: she disagreed, but she was suddenly sympathetic. "When did that happen?"

"Last September." My voice sounded said, even to me.

"And you don't like him," Natsuki surmised, her tone still kind.

"No, Ryo is nice. Too young, maybe, but nice enough."

"Why didn't you stay with them?"

I couldn't fathom her interest, but she continued to stare at me with penetrating eyes, as if my dull life's story was somehow vitally important.

"Ryo travels a lot. He owns a small business, selling cars."

"And you mother sent you here so that she could travel with him." She said it as an assumption again, not a question.

"No, she did not send me here. I sent myself.

Her eyebrows knit together. "I don't understand," she admitted, and she seemed unnecessarily frustrated by that fact.

She continued to stare at me with obvious curiosity.

"Mother stayed with me at first, but she missed him. It made her unhappy, so I decided it was time to spend some quality time with father."

"But now you're unhappy."

"And?" I challenged her.

"That doesn't seem fair." She shrugged, but her eyes were still intense.

I laughed a little. "Have you heard of the saying Life isn't fair."

"I believe I have heard that somewhere before," she agreed dryly. "You put on a good show," she said slowly. "But I'm willingly to bet that you're suffering more than you let anyone see."

For the first time in my life, I have never met anyone like her. This was also the first time I was speechless.

"Am I annoying you?" she asked. She sounded amused. I glanced at her.

"Am I that easy to read?"

"On the contrary, I find you very difficult to read."

"No, your not annoying me, I find your presence pleasant. Are you a good reader?"

"Usually." She smiled widely, flashing a set of perfect, ultra-white teeth.

Morimoto-sensei called the class to order then, I turned to listen. I was in disbelief that I'd just explain my life to this bizarre, beautiful girl who may or may not despise me. She'd seemed engrossed in our conversation, but now I could see, from the corner of my eye, that she was leaning away from me again, her hands gripping the edge of the table with unmistakable tension.

When the bell finally rang, Natsuki rushed as swiftly and as gracefully from the room as she had last Monday. And, like last Monday, I stared after her in amazement. Aoi came over with Chie.

"Wow, you're lucky that you had Natsuki as your partner. That was hard."

"Not really, I didn't have any trouble with it."

"Natsuki seemed friendly enough today," Chie commended.

"I wonder what was wrong with her last Monday."

After school ended, the rain was just a mist as I walked to the parking lot. When I got into my car, I turned on the heater and fluffed my damp hair out so the heater could dry it on the way home.

I looked around to make sure it was clear. That's when I noticed the still, white figure. Natsuki was leaning on a Ducati three cars down staring intently in my direction. I backed my car out almost hitting a rusty Toyota Corolla in my haste. I stomped on my brakes stopping only inches away from the car. I took a deep breath, still looking out the other side of my car, and cautiously pulled out again, with greater success. I stared straight ahead as I passed the Ducati, but from a peripheral peek, I could swear I saw her laughing.

* * *

Katsudon: _donburi_ topped with deep-fried breaded cutlet of pork 

A/N: So? How was it? Good?Bad? Which? Oh! I need to know please comment! chapter 3 will be out as soon as I finish it


	4. Chapter 3

Here's chapter 3. Thanks for all the comments! Glad you guys like this. Some credit goes to my cousin. Well hope you guys enjoy this too.

* * *

When I opened my eyes in the morning, something was different. It was the light. It still had the same gray-green light of a cloudy day, but it was clearer somehow. 

I got out of bed and looked outside. A fine layer of snow covered the yard, dusted the top if my car, and whitened the roads.

Father had already left for work. Living with father is like living by myself. I found myself reveling in the aloneness instead of being lonely.

I made a simply breakfast. Just toast and eggs. I felt excited to go to school. I knew it wasn't the stimulating learning environment nor was it seeing my new set of friends. If I was being honest with myself, I knew I was eager to get to school because I would see Natsuki. I'm quite curious and suspicious of her; why would she need to lie about her eyes? The hostility I sometimes felt emanating from her felt refreshing. Whenever I picture her beautiful face I couldn't stop the smile on my face. I was well aware that her league and my league were spheres that did not touch.

I carefully walked to my car. I wouldn't want to embarrass myself by falling on my butt. Holding onto something whenever I get the chance. Driving to school, I distracted myself, instead of thinking about Natsuki, I thought about the girls who admire me back in Kyoto. There was an obvious difference in how they all react towards me than Natsuki did.

When I got out of my car, at school, something silver caught my eye, and I walked to the back of the car to examine the tires. There were thin chains crisscrossed in diamond shapes around them. Father must have put these on for me.

I started walking toward my first period. When I was about two cars away I heard an odd sound from behind me. It was a high-pitched screech, and it was fast becoming painfully louder. I turned around startled.

I saw several things simultaneously. The rush seemed to make my brain work much faster, and I was able to absorb in cleat detail several things at once.

Natsuki was standing five cars down from me staring at me in horror. Her face stood out from the see of faces, all frozen with the same mask of shock. But the most important thing right now is the red Toyota Corolla that was skidding and spinning towards me. It was going to hit the back of the truck and I'm standing in between them.

Just before I heard the shattering crunch of the Corolla folding around the truck bed, something hit me hard. Something hard and cold had pushed me down onto the floor. Before I knew it I was lying on the ground behind the blue Accord parked next to the truck. I didn't have the chance to stop and think what was happening because I could see the Corolla was still coming.

I heard a frustrated grunt which made me aware that someone was with me and that voice was impossible to recognize. Two white hands shot out protectively in front of me, and the Corolla shuddered to a stop just mere inches away from my face, the hands fitting providentially into a deep dent in the side of the Corolla's body.

Then these hands moved so fast before I knew it one was suddenly gripping under my body of the car and the other swinging my legs till they hit the tire of the Accord. A groaning metallic thud hurt my ears, and the Corolla settled, glass popping, onto the asphalt where my legs were a second ago.

It was silent for one second, than I heard people screaming my name. But more clearly than all the screaming, I could hear Natsuki's low, frantic voice in my ear.

"Shizuru? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," I tried to sit up, and realized she was holding me against the side of her body in an iron grasp.

"Be careful, I think you hit your head."

I then started to feel the throbbing ache centered above my left ear. "Ow."

"That's what I thought." Her voice sounded like she was suppressing laughter. Then something suddenly hit me.

"How did you get over here so fast?"

"I was standing right next to you, Shizuru." She said her tone serious again.

I turned to sit up, and this time she let me, releasing her hold around my waist and sliding as far from me as she could in the limited space. I looked at her concerned, innocent expression and was disoriented by her emerald eyes.

And then they found us, a crowd of people with tears streaming down their faces.

"Don't move," someone instructed.

"Get Nina and Arika out of the car!" someone else shouted.

There was a lot of activity happening around us. I tried to get up, but Natsuki's cold hand pushed my shoulder down.

"Just stay put for now."

"It's cold," I complained. It surprised me when she chuckled under her breathe. There was an edge to the sound.

"Natsuki, you were over there." Her chuckle stopped. "By your bike."

Her expression turned hard. "No, I wasn't."

"I saw you." There was chaos all around us, but I held onto this argument. I must find out why Natsuki's so different.

"Shizuru, I was standing with you, and I pulled you out of the way." She unleashed the full, devastating power of her eyes on me, as if trying to communicate something crucial.

"No."

The green in her eyes blazed. "Please, Shizuru."

"Why?" I demanded.

"Trust me," she pleaded her soft voice overwhelming.

I could hear the sirens now. "Will you tell me later?"

"Fine," she snapped, abruptly exasperated.

It took six adults to shift the Corolla far enough away from us to bring the stretchers in, Natsuki vehemently refused hers, and I tried to do the same, but Natsuki told them I'd hit my head and probably had a concussion. It looked like the entire school was there watching them load me into the back of the ambulance. My father arrived before they could drive me to the hospital.

"Shizuru!" he yelled in panic.

"Father, I'm completely fine, there's nothing wrong with me."

He turned to the nearest medic for a second opinion. When they'd lifted me away fro m the car, I had seen the deep dent in the Corolla's bumper- very distinct dent that fit the contours of Natsuki's shoulder, its as if she had braced herself against the car with enough forced to damage the metal frame.

And then there was her family, looking from the distance with expressions that ranged from disapproval to fury and held very little hint of concern for Natsuki's safety.

When we got to the hospital, they put me in the emergency room, a long room with a line of beds separated by pastel-patterned curtains. A nurse put a pressure cuff on my arm and a thermometer under my tongue. I hope they cleaned this before they stick it in my mouth.

There was another flurry of hospital personnel, and two other stretchers were brought to the beds next to me. I recognized Nina Wang and Arika Yumemiya from my history class beneath the bloodstained bandages wrapped tightly around their heads. They looked a hundred times worst than I did. Arika Yumemiya was staring anxiously at me.

"Fujino-san, I'm so sorry!"

"I'm fine, Yumemiya-san. You two look awful, are you alright?"

As we spoke, nurses began unwinding their soiled bandages exposing a myriad of shallow slices all over their forehead and cheeks.

"Fujino-san, I'm sorry I was driving too fast."

"It's okay Wang-san. You missed me."

"I thought Nina was going to kill you. Thank god you are saf…" Arika winced as one nurse started dabbing her face.

"Fujino-san, how did you get out of the way so fast?"

"Ara? Are you planning to run me over again?"

"Uh! NO! Sorry…"

"Wang-san, I'm joking. Natsuki pulled me out of the way."

"Who?" Arika asked.

"Natsuki Kuga. She was standing next to me."

"Kuga-san? I didn't see her there…Is she okay?"

"Yes, I think so. She's here somewhere, but they didn't make her use a stretcher."

I knew I wasn't crazy. What had happened? How did Natsuki get over to me so fast? There was no way to explain what I'd seen.

They wheeled me away then, to X-ray my head. I asked if I could leave, but the nurse said I had to talk to a doctor first. So I was trapped in the ER, waiting, and listening to Arika's constant apologizing and promises to make it up to me. I closed my eyes for awhile.

"Is she sleeping?" a musical voice said. My eyes flew open.

Natsuki was standing at the foot of my bed, smirking.

"Kuga-san, I'm really sorry…" Nina began.

Natsuki lifted a hand to stop her.

"No blood, no foul. Just don't die," she said, flashing her brilliant teeth. She moved over to Arika.

"You? Are you okay?"

Arika nodded. Natsuki then moved to sit on the edge of Arika's bed facing me. She smirked again.

"So, what's the result?" she asked me.

"There's noting wrong with me at all, but they won't let me go," I complained. "How come you aren't strapped to a gurney like the rest of us?"

"It's all about who you know," she answered. "But don't worry, I came to free you."

Then a doctor walked in. My eyes stared in disbelief, and my mouth fell open. She was young; she had short dark purplish hair and purple eyes. She was pale, tired-looking, with circles under her eyes. From Father's description, this had to be Natsuki's guardian and she was indeed very beautiful.

"Fujino-san," Dr. Sagisawa said in a remarkably appealing voice, "how are you feeling?"

"I'm fine."

She walked to the light board on the wall over my head, and turned it on.

"Your X-rays look good," she said. "Does your head hurt? Natsuki said you hit it pretty hard."

"It's fine," I repeated, throwing a quick glance toward Natsuki.

The doctor's cool fingers probed lightly along my skull. She noticed I winced.

"Tender?" she asked.

"Not really."

I heard a chuckled, and looked over at Natsuki's patronizing smile.

"Well, your father is in the waiting room- you can go home with home now. But come back if you start feeling dizzy or have trouble with your eyesight."

"Can I go back to school?" I asked.

"Maybe you should take it easy today."

I glanced at Natsuki. "Will Natsuki go to school?"

"Someone has to spread the good news that we survived," Natsuki said smugly.

"Actually," Dr. Sagisawa corrected, "most of the school seems to be in the waiting room."

"Oh." Now I have make sure my fan girls don't morn over me. I hoped off the bed and lost my balance, and Natsuki caught me. Dr. Sagisawa looked concerned.

"Take some Tylenol for the pain," she suggested as she studied me.

"Okay doctor."

"It looks like you were extremely lucky," Dr. Sagisawa said, smiling as he signed my chart.

"Luckily Natsuki happened to be standing next to me," I said with a glance at the subject of my statement.

"Oh, well, yes," Dr. Sagisawa agreed, suddenly occupied with the papers in front of him. My intuition flickered; the doctor was in on it. The doctor got up and walked over to Arika and Nina.

"I'm afraid you guys are staying."

As soon as the doctor started to examine them, I moved to Natsuki's side.

"Do you have moment?" I asked under my breath. She took a step back from me, her jaw suddenly clenched.

"Your father is waiting for you," she said through her teeth.

"I would like to talk to you alone."

She glared, and then turned her back and strode down the long room. I nearly had to run to keep up. As soon as we turned the corner into a short hallway, she spun around to face me.

"What do you want?" she asked, sounding annoyed. Her eyes were cold.

"I believe you owe me an explanation."

"I saved your life, I don't owe you anything."

I flinched back from the resentment in his voice. "You promised."

"Shizuru, you hit your head, you don't know what you're talking about." Her tone was cutting.

"There's nothing wrong with my head."

She glared. "What do you want from me, Shizuru?"

"The truth." I said.

"What do you think happened?" she snapped.

Before I could really think about what to say, I just said what came to my head.

"I know you weren't near me, Wang-san didn't see, either, so don't tell me I hit my head too hard. That Corolla was going to crush us both and it didn't, and your hands left dents in the side of it and you left another dent in the other car, and you're not hurt at all and the Corolla should have smashed my legs, but you were holding it up…" I could hear how crazy it sounded.

She was staring at me incredulously. But her face was tense, defensive.

"You think I lifted a car off you?" Her tone questioned my sanity, but it only made me more suspicious. I nodded.

"Nobody will believe that, you know." Her voice held an edge of derising now.

"I wasn't planning on telling anyone."

Surprise flitted across her face. "Then why does it matter?"

"It matters to me," I insisted.

"Can't you just thank me and get over it?"

"Thank you." I waited. Silence.

"You're not going to let it go, are you?"

"No."

"In that case…I hope you enjoy disappointment."

We stared at each other in silence. I was the first to break the silence, trying to keep my focus. I was in danger of being distracted by her glorious face.

"Why?" I asked.

She paused, and a brief moment her stunning face was unexpectedly vulnerable.

"I don't know," she whispered.

And then she turned around and walked away. I made my way slowly to the exit at the end of the hallway. The waiting room was filled with what seemed like every face I knew in Fuuka was there, staring at me. Father rushed to my side.

"Father, there's nothing wrong with me," I assured him.

"What did the doctor say?"

"Sagisawa-sensei saw me, and she said I was fine and I could go home," I said.

Father put an arm around my shoulder. "Let's go home." I waved at my friends hoping to convey that they didn't need to worry anymore.

The drive was silent. I was wrapped up in my thoughts. I was positive that Natsuki's defensive behavior in the hall was a confirmation of the bizarre things I still could hardly believe I'd witnessed. When we got home, father was the first to break the silence.

"Shizuru, you should call Kyoko."

"Mother? You told her?" I was a little appalled.

"Yes, I'm sorry."

"It's okay, she should know."

Mother was in hysterics, of course. I had to tell her I was fine at least 100 times before she calm down. Mother begged me to come back home, forgetting the fact that home was empty at the moment, but her please were easier to resist that I'd thought. I was consumed by the mystery Natsuki presented.

I decided I might as well go to bed early that night. I went over to my drawer and grab three Tylenol. They did help, and, as the pain eased, I drifted to sleep. That was the first night I dreamed of Natsuki Kuga.

* * *

A/N: Well? It's shorter than the others. Sorry about that. I'll try to make the others longer. Comments are very much appreciated. 


	5. Chapter 4

Well, as promised this chapter is longer. This is probably worth two chapters, the way I usually do things. Anyways here it is chapter 4!

* * *

In my dream it was very dark, and what dim light there seemed to be radiating from Natsuki's body. I couldn't see her face only her back walking away from me, leaving me in the darkness. No matter how fast how I ran, I couldn't catch up to her. She didn't even stop when I called her name out numerous times. I woke up feeling troubled in the middle of the night. After that, she was in my dreams almost every night, never within my reach. Every time I wake up from these dreams, I couldn't go back to sleep. 

I found myself the center of attention for the rest of the week. Arika Yumemiya was following me around, obsessed with making amends to me. I tried to convince her I wanted more than anything was for her to forget all about it, but she remained insistent. She followed me between classes and sat with me and my friends earning a few glares from my fan-girls.

No one seemed concerned about Natsuki, though I explained that she was the hero. Chie, Aoi, Sayuri, Yayoi, and everyone else always commented that they hadn't seen her there until the Corolla was pulled away.

I wondered to my self why no one else had seen her standing so far away, before she was suddenly, impossibly saving my like. With chagrin, I realized that no one else was as aware of Natsuki as I always was. No one watched her the way I do.

Natsuki was never surrounded by crowds of curious bystanders like I was. People avoided her as usual. The Sagisawa's sat at the same table as always, not eating, talking only among themselves. None of them, especially Natsuki, glanced my way anymore.

When she sat next to me in class, as far from me as the table would allow, she seemed unaware of my presence, Every now and then, when her fist would suddenly ball up did I wonder if she wasn't quite as oblivious as she appeared. The only conclusion I can come up with for the balled fist was she wished she hadn't pulled me out of the Corolla's path.

I wanted to talk to her very much. I was a little furious that she wouldn't trust me with the truth. But she had in fact saved my life, no matter how she'd done it.

I decided that I will at least try to say hi today. She was already seated when I got to Biology, looking straight ahead. I sat down, hoping she would turn toward me. She showed no sign that she realized I was there.

"Hello Natsuki." I said pleasantly.

She turned her head a little toward my direction and nodded once, and looked the other way.

And that was the last contact I had with her, though she sat a foot away from me everyday. I watched her sometimes from the corner of my eye, unable to stop myself-from a distance, though, in the cafeteria or parking lot. I watched as her emerald eyes grew darker day by day. And the dreams still continued.

It's been raining for the last couple of days, but it seemed like it was lighting up. Aoi was happy that her trip to Fuuka Beach would soon be possible.

Chie made me aware of another event looming on the horizon. She called the first Monday of March to ask if I was planning to ask anybody to the dance.

"Ara, Chie-san, are you asking me to the dance?"

"No, just wanted to make my dear Aoi was still available."

"I see… Well, I'm not planning to attend the dance."

"Hmm? Someone as gorgeous as you wouldn't have a problem finding a date."

"Ara, you flatter me Chie-san."

After we ended our conversation. I was wondering what I would do now if I wasn't going to attend the dance. Well, I might as well go Downtown to look for a bookstore.

The next day, Aoi was clinging onto Chie, so I'm assuming she had said 'yes' to her. There were a couple of guys who asked me but I turned them down with the, 'I'm sorry, I will be in Downtown during the dance.'

In Biology, one of my male classmates walked up to me before class started.

"Fujino-san."

"What can I do for you, Ooda-san?"

"Call me Shin, I was wondering if you would like to go to the dance with me."

When Ooda-san asked, I saw from the corner of my eye, Natsuki's head tilted reflexively in my direction.

"Shin-san, I'm sorry I'm not going to the dance."

"Oh,okay." He mumbled and went back to his table.

I sighed, and noticed that Natsuki was still staring at me curiously, that same, familiar edge of frustration even distinct now in her dark emerald eyes. I stared back, expecting her to look quickly away. But instead she continued to gaze with probing intensity into my eyes.

"Kuga-san?" Morimoto-sensei called, seeking the answer to a question.

"Cytoplasm." Natsuki answered, seeming reluctant as she turned to look at Morimoto-sensei.

I looked down at my book as soon as her eyes released me. I couldn't believe the rush of emotions pulsing though me, just because she'd happened to look at me for the first time in half-dozen weeks. I couldn't allow her to have this level of influence over me.

When the bell rang I started to gather my things, expecting her to leave immediately as usual.

"Shizuru." Her voice sounded so familiar, as if I'd known it all my life rather than for just a few weeks.

I turned slowly knowing how I was going to feel when I look at her face. Her expression was unreadable. She didn't say anything.

"So, Natsuki decided to talk to me again?" I asked an unintentional note of petulance in my voice.

Her lips twitched, trying to fight off a smile. "No, not really," she admitted.

"Then, can I help with something, Natsuki?" I asked.

"I'm sorry," she sounded sincere. "I'm being very rude, I know. But it's better this way." Her face was serious.

"I don't know what you mean." I said.

It's better if we're not friends," she explained. "Trust me."

I was starting to get irritated. "It's too bad you didn't figure that out earlier," I said. "You could have saved yourself all this regret."

"Regret?" That obviously caught her off guard. "Regret for what?"

"For saving me from the Corolla."

She was astonished. She stared at me in disbelief. When she finally spoke, she almost sounded mad. "You think I regret saving your life?"

"Well, isn't that why you haven't been talking to me?"

"No, I haven't talk to you because it's better this way."

I was going to say something but Aoi told me to hurry up before we were late for Gym. Natsuki turned around and left. I tried to concentrate in Gym, but Natsuki keep creeping back into my thoughts.

After Gym, I walked back to my mustang. I saw a dark figure leaning against the side of my car. I thought maybe it was Natsuki, but instead it was Arika.

"Arika-san, is there something you need?" I asked.

"Hi, Shizuru-san. Want to go to the dance with me?"

"Thank you for asking, but I'm going to Downtown that day for some errands."

"Oh, can't you go some other time?"

"I'm sorry Arika-san, I can't."

"Okay, I guess next time then."

She slouched off, back toward the school. I heard a low chuckle. Natsuki was walking past the front of my car, looking straight forward her lips pressed together. I watched as she got on her bike and started to back out of her parking spot. I got into my car. Natsuki was sitting on her bike waiting for her siblings. I backed my car out but was cut off when each one of the Sagisawa cars was backing out slowly from their space.

While I was sitting there, I notice there was a line beginning to form directly behind me. I heard a knock on my passenger side window. I looked over and saw Nina there. I rolled down the window.

"Wang-san, I'm sorry I'm being held up."

"Call me Nina. Its okay I know. I came to ask you something."

"Yes?" I could guess what she was going to ask.

"I saw Arika talking to you at first. And I was wondering are you taking her to the dance?"

"No, I'm not going to be there at the dance."

"Okay, so Arika is still available. Thanks."

Okay, that wasn't what I was expecting. She left and I rolled the window back up. I look forward to see Takumi-kun, Akira-san, and Mai-san getting into the Honda Civic, Akane-san was getting into the 350z, Kikukawa-san was getting into the Evolution VII, and Mikoto was driving the Honda SI. I looked even further and I saw Natsuki looking at me. She was unquestionably shaking with laughter, as if she'd heard ever word Nina had said. Natsuki put on her helmet and drove out of the parking lot with 4 cars following her.

When I got home I decided to make something Western. I started wrapping potatoes in foil and stuck them in the oven to bake, covered a steak in marinade and put it in the fridge. Then the phone rang and it was Yayoi. She told me she was going with a guy from her Government glass to the dance. Before I hung up she invited me to go to Fuuka Mall with her, Chie, Aoi, and Sayuri on Thursday. I accepted.

After I hung up I tried to concentrate on dinner, but I was thinking about what Natsuki said. What did she mean; it was better if we weren't friends? My stomach twisted as I realized what she must have meant. She must have notice how absorbed I was by her; she must not want to lead me on, so we couldn't even be friends, because she wasn't interested in me at all.

Of course she wasn't interested in me. I was just some girl from Kyoto. And she was, interesting, mysteries, brilliant, perfect, beautiful, and possibly able to lift cars with one hand.

When father came home, he seemed suspicious when he smelled potatoes. I took the potatoes out and put in the steaks. Well, who could blame him, we hardly eat Western food. When the steak was done I cut it in half and put them into our plates.

"Father?" I asked when he was almost done eating.

"Yes?"

"I'm going Downtown this Saturday, is that okay?"

"Why?" He sounded surprised.

"Well, I wanted to get a few books- the library here is pretty limited and maybe some clothes."

"Are you going by yourself?"

"Yes."

"Downtown is pretty big, you could get lost."

"Father, Kyoto is five times the size of Downtown, and I can read a map."

"It's okay, but will be back for the dance?"

Only in a town this small, will a father know when the high school dances were.

"No, I'm not attending."

"Why? You shouldn't have a problem getting a date to the dance."

"I'm not up to it, father."

"Oh, okay."

The next morning I parked six cars away from Natsuki's bike. Getting out of the car, I fumbled with my keys and it fell into a puddle at my feet. As I bent down to get it, a white hand flashed out and grabbed it before I could. I jerked up right. Natsuki was right next to me, leaning casually against my car.

"How do you do that?" I asked.

"Oh? Well, you bent like this and reach…"

"Not that, how do you appear out of thin air?" I asked as she put my keys into my palm.

"Shizuru, it's not fault if you are exceptionally unobservant." Her voice was quiet as usual, velvet, muted.

Her eyes were lighter again today.

"I thought you were pretending I don't exist."

"I'm not pretending you don't exist." She stated.

"So why have you been acting like I don't exist?"

"Shizuru, you are absolutely absurd," she said, her low voice cold.

I started walking toward my class; I was starting to feel irritated again.

"Wait," she called. I kept walking, but she easily caught up with me.

"I'm sorry that was rude," she said as we walked.

"How come you're not ignoring me now?"

"I wanted to ask you something, but you sidetracked me," she chuckled. She seemed to have recovered her good humor. I stopped walking and turned to her.

"Do you have a multiple personality disorder?" I asked. I couldn't believe how I was acting. I never acted like this in front of other people. Why does Natsuki have this effect on me?

"You're doing it again."

I sighed. "Fine, what can I do for you?"

"Well, I was wondering this Saturday would you-"

"Stop, I'm not going to the dance. I'm busy that day."

"Would you let me finish?" Her eyes were wickedly amused. "I heard you were going Downtown on Saturday, and I was wondering if you want a ride."

That was unexpected. "What?" I wasn't sure what she was getting at.

"Do you want a ride to Downtown?"

"With who?" I asked, mystified.

"Myself, obviously." She enunciated every syllable, as if she were talking to someone mentally handicapped. "I was planning to go to Downtown anyways, so why don't we go together?"

"Honestly, Natsuki. I thought you didn't want to be my friend."

"I said it would be better if we weren't friends, not that I didn't want to be."

"Okay, that clear some things up." I saw with a little sarcasm.

"It would be more… prudent for you not to be my friend." She explained. "But I'm tired of trying to stay away from you, Shizuru."

Her eyes were gloriously intense as she uttered the last sentence, her voice smoldering.

"Will you go with me?" she asked, still intense.

I couldn't speak yet, so I just nodded. She smiled briefly, and then her face became serious.

"You really should stay away from me." She warned. "I'll see you in class."

She turned abruptly and walked back the way we'd come. Because of this conversation I was late to Trig.

"Thank you for joining us, Fujino-san." Yamaguchi-sensei said in a disapproving tone.

The rest of the morning went by in a blur. It was kind of different to believe that I hadn't imagined what Natsuki had said, and the way her eyes had looked. Maybe it was just a very convincing dream that I'd confused with reality. So I was impatient and a little frightened as Yayoi and I entered the cafeteria. I wanted to see her face, to see if she'd gone back to the cold, indifferent person I'd known for the last several weeks, or if, by some miracle, I'd really heard what I thought I heard this morning. Everyone sitting at the table was talking about the dance.

Disappointment flooded through me as my eyes focused on her table. The other nine were there, but she was absent. Had she gone home? I took a sip of my tea trying to hide my disappointment.

"Natsuki Kuga is staring at you again," Chie said. "I wonder why she's sitting alone today."

My head snapped up to follow her gaze to see Natsuki, smiling crookedly, staring at me from an empty table across the cafeteria from where she usually sits. Once she'd caught my eye, she gestured me over.

"Looks like Kuga-san is interested in you," commended Aoi.

"Maybe she needs help with her Biology homework," snicker Chie.

"I'd better go see what she needs, excuse me."

I could feel their eyes as I walked away. When I reached her table, I stood behind the chair across from her, unsure.

"Why don't you sit with me today?" she asked smiling.

I sat down, watching as she was smiling. It was kind of hard to believe that Natsuki was smiling at me like this. I was afraid that she might disappear in a sudden puff of smoke, and I would wake up. She seemed to be waiting for me to say something.

"Are you okay?" I finally managed to say.

"Well…" she started. "I decided as long as I was going to hell, I might as well do it thoroughly."

I waited for her to say something that made sense.

"I'm sorry, I don't quite follow."

"I know." She smiled again, and then she changed the subject. "I think your fan-girls are angry at me for having you all to myself."

"They'll survive." I chuckled.

"I may not give you back though," she said with a wicked glint in her eyes.

I gulped.

She laughed. "You look worried."

"No," I said. "Surprised actually…what brought all this on?"

"I told you, I got tired of staying away from you. So I'm giving up." She was still smiling, but her eyes were serious.

"Giving up?"

"Yes, giving up. I'm tired, so I'm just going to do what I want now, just let things happen." Her smile faded as she explained, and a hard edge crept into her voice.

"You lost me again."

The breath taking smile reappeared.

"I always say too much when I'm with you, which are one of the problems."

"So, are we friends now?"

"Friends…" she mused, dubious.

"Or not," I muttered.

She grinned. "Well, we can try, I suppose. But I'm warning you now that I'm not a good friend for you." Behind her smile, the warning was real.

"You say that a lot." I noted.

"Yes, because you don't listen to me. I'm still waiting for you to believe it. If you're smart, you'll avoid me."

"Excuse me? Are you implying I'm not smart?"

She smiled apologetically.

"So, while I'm being not smart, are we friends?"

"Yes."

She handed me a cup of tea. I looked down and wrapped my hand around it.

"What are you thinking?" she asked curiously.

I looked up into her deep emerald eyes.

"I'm trying to figure you out."

Her jaw tightened, but she kept her smile in place with some effort.

"Are you having any luck with that?" she asked in an offhand tone.

"Not too much," I admitted.

She chuckled. "What are your theories?"

I couldn't tell her. During the last month I had been vacillating between Superwomen and Wonderwomen.

"Won't you tell me?" she asked, tilting her head to one side with a shockingly tempting smile.

I shook my head. "Too embarrassing."

"That's really frustrating, you know," she complained.

"No," I disagreed quickly, "I can't _imagine_ why that would be frustrating at all, just because someone refuses to tell you what they're thinking, why would that be frustrating?" I said smirking.

She grimaced.

"Or, better," I continued, "say that person also did a wide range of bizarre things, from saving ones life under impossible circumstances one day to treating you like a pariah the next, and she never explained any of that, even after she promised to explain everything. That, also, would be very non-frustrating."

"You got quite a temper, don't you?"

"Only with you."

We stared at each other, unsmiling. She glanced over my shoulder, and then, unexpectedly, she snickered.

"What?"

"Yumemiya seems to think I'm being unpleasant to you, she's debating whether or not to come break up our fight." She snickered again.

"You're probably wrong."

"I'm not. I told you, most people are easy to read."

"Except me, of course."

"Yes. Except you." Her mood shifted suddenly; her eyes turned brooding. "I wonder why that is."

I had to look away from the intensity of her stare. I took a sip of my tea.

"Aren't you hungry?" she asked, distracted.

"Not really. You?" I looked at the empty table in front of him.

"No, I'm not hungry." I didn't understand her expression; it looked like she was enjoying some private joke.

"Can you do me a favor?" I asked after a second of hesitation.

She was suddenly wary. "That depends on what you want."

"It's not much." I assured her.

"I was just wondering if you would warn me beforehand the next time you decide to ignore me for my own good."

"That sounds fair." She was pressing her lips together to keep from laughing.

"Thanks."

"Then can I have one answer in return?" she demanded.

"One."

"Tell me one theory."

"Next." I said while taking another sip of my tea.

"You didn't qualify, you just promised one answer," she reminded me.

"Did you forget that you've broken promises yourself," I reminded her back.

"Just one, I won't laugh."

"Yes you will." I was positive about that.

She looked down, and then glanced up at me through her long lashes, her emerald eyes scorching.

"Please?" she breathe, leaning toward me.

I blinked, my mind going blank. How did she do that?

"Er, what?" I asked, dazed.

"Please tell me just one little theory." Her eyes still smoldered at me.

"Um, are you allergic to Kryptonite?" Was she a hypnotist, too?

"That's not very creative," she scoffed.

"I'm sorry that's all I got."

"You're not even close," she teased.

"No maces?"

"None."

"No X-ray vision?"

"Nope."

"Dang," I sighed.

"No spiders or radioactivity, either," she chuckled.

"Your not suppose to laugh remember?"

She struggled to compose her face.

"I'll figure it out soon."

"I wish you wouldn't try." She was serious again.

"Because…?"

"What if I'm not a superhero? What if I'm the bad guy?" She smiled playfully, but her eyes were impenetrable.

"Your dangerous?" I guessed, my pulse quickened as I intuitively realized the truth of my own words. She was dangerous. She'd been trying to tell me that all along.

She just looked at me, eyes full of some emotion I couldn't comprehend.

"But you're not bad." I whispered, shaking my head.

"You're wrong." Her voice was almost inaudible.

She looked down. I stared at her, wondering why I didn't feel afraid. But I just felt anxious, and on edge and more than anything, fascinated. The same way I always felt when I was near her. I noticed that the cafeteria was almost empty.

"We're going to be late." I said as I got up.

"I'm not going to class today," she said.

"Why not?"

"It's healthy to ditch class now and then." She smiled up at me, but her eyes were troubled.

"You should really go. You already have a lot of absences."

"I'll be there tomorrow."

"Fine, I'm going," I told her.

She turned her head towards me as I walked away. "I'll see you later, then."

When I got to class, Morimoto-sensei was about to start. He gave each table a small cardboard box.

"Okay, guys, I want you all to take one piece from each box," he said as he produced a pair of rubber gloves from his pockets. "The first should be the indicator card," he went on, grabbing a white card with four squares marked on it and displaying it. "The second is a four-pronged applicator and the third is a sterile micro-lancet." He held up a small piece of blue plastic and split it open. The barb was invisible from the distance, but my stomach flipped.

"I'll be coming around with a dropper of water to prepare your cards, so please don't start until I get to you." He said at Chie's table, carefully putting one drop of water in each of the four squares. "Then I want you to carefully prick your finger with the lancet." He grabbed Chie's hand and jabbed the spike into the tip of Chie's index finger. "Put a small drop of blood on each of the prongs." He demonstrated squeezing Chie's finger till the blood flowed. I swallowed convulsively, my stomach heaving.

He continued through the room with his water drops. I put my head down against the cool black tabletop and tried to hold on to my consciousness. I breathed slowly in and out through my mouth.

"Fujino-san, are you all right?" Morimoto-sensei asked. His voice was close to my head.

"I already know my blood type, Morimoto-sensei." I said in a weak voice.

"Are you feeling faint?"

"Yes, sir." I muttered.

"Ooda-kun, can you take Fujino-san to the nurse, please?" he called.

"Can you walk?" Morimoto-sensei asked.

"Yes," I whispered.

Ooda-san seemed eager as he put his arm around my waist and pulled my arm over his shoulder. I leaned against him heavily on the way out of the classroom. Ooda-san towed me slowly across campus. When we were around the edge of the cafeteria, out of Morimoto-sensei's sight, I stopped.

"I need to sit for awhile."

He helped me sit on a bench. I slumped onto the bench and closed my eyes. That seemed to help a little.

"Shizuru?" a different voice called from the distance. "What's wrong? Is she hurt?" her voice was closer now, and she sounded upset.

Ooda-san seems stressed. "I think she fainted. I don't know what happened; she didn't even stick her finger."

"Shizuru." Natsuki's voice was right beside me, relieved now. "Can you hear me?"

"No," I groaned.

She chuckled.

"I was taking her to the nurse," Ooda-san explained in a defensive tone, "but she wouldn't go further."

"I'll take her," Natsuki said. I could hear the smile still in her voice. "You can go back to class."

"No," Ooda protested. "I'm supposed to do it."

Suddenly the bench disappeared from beneath me. My eyes flew open in shock. Natsuki had scooped me up in her arms, as easily as if I weighed nothing.

"Hey!" Ooda-san called already ten paces behind us.

Natsuki ignored him. "You look awful," she told me, grinning. "So you faint at the sight of blood?" she asked. This seemed to entertain her. "And not even your own blood," she continued, enjoying herself.

I don't know how she opened the door while carrying me, but it was suddenly open.

"Oh my," I heard a female voice.

"She fainted in Biology," Natsuki explained.

Natsuki placed me gently on the bed. Then she moved to stand against the wall as far across the narrow room as possible. Her eyes were bright, excited.

"She's just a little faint," she reassured Sagisawa-sensei. "They're blood typing in Biology."

Sagisawa-sensei nodded sagely. "There's always one."

She muffled a snicker.

"Just lie down and it'll pass."

"I know." I sighed.

"Does this happen often?" Sagisawa-sensei asked.

"Sometimes." I admitted. Natsuki coughed to hide another laugh.

"You can go back to class now," she told her.

"I'm supposed to stay with her." She said this with such assured authority.

"Hmm…Fine do what you want. I'll go get some ice for your forehead." She said to me, and then bustled out of the room.

"You were right, ditching is healthy."

"I usually am right. You scared me for a minute there," she admitted. Her tone made it sound like she was confessing a humiliating weakness. "I though Ooda was dragging your dead body off to bury it in the woods."

I chuckled.

"Honestly, I've seen corpses with better color. I was concerned that I might have to avenge your murder."

"I bet Ooda-kun is mad."

"Well, he absolutely loathes me now," Natsuki said cheerfully.

"I thought you were ditching." I was almost fine now, though the queasiness would probably pass faster if I'd eaten something during lunch.

"I was in Tate's car, listening to a CD."

The door suddenly opened and Ooda-kun came in with another student in his arms. It was Aoi. I hopped down to free the bed for the next invalid.

"Oh no," Natsuki muttered. "Go out, Shizuru."

I looked at her bewildered.

"Trust me, just go."

I turned around and walked out. I could feel Natsuki right behind me.

"You actually listened to me." She said stunned.

"I smelled the blood," I said.

"People can't smell blood," she contradicted.

"Well, I can, that's what makes me sick. It smells like rust and salt."

Ooda-kun came through the door, glancing from me to Natsuki. The look he gave to Natsuki confirmed what she had said about loathing. He looked back at me, his eyes glum.

"You look better," he accused.

"Yes, Thank you for earlier."

"No problem.Umm…Are you going to the beach this Sunday? Senou-san invited me just now and I was wondering if you were going." His body language made it clear that it wasn't an open invitation.

I tried to sound friend as possible. "Yes, I will be going to the beach."

"Cool, then I'll see you tomorrow in class."

I smiled as he left. "I don't want to go to Gym."

"I'll take care of that." I hadn't noticed Natsuki moving to my side, but she spoke now in my ear. "Wait here."

Natsuki went back into the nurse office and came out with a permission to leave early slip.

"Come on. I'll drive you home." She offered.

"It's okay, I can drive myself."

"Not in your condition. Come on."

I followed her to the parking lot. Stopping at where her bike was parked.

"So are you coming on Sunday?"

"Where are you all going, exactly?" she asked still looking ahead, expressionless.

"Down to Fuuka Beach." I studied her face, trying to read it. Her eyes seem to narrow infinitesimally.

She glanced down at me from the corner of her eye, smiling wryly. "I really don't think I was invited."

I sighed. "I just invited you."

"Let's you and I not push poor Ooda any further. We don't want him to snap." Her eyes danced; she was enjoying the idea more than she should.

I walked past Natsuki's bike when something caught my jacket, yanking me back.

"Where do you think your going?" she asked, outraged. She was gripping a fistful of my jacket in one hand.

I was confused. "I'm going home."

"Didn't you hear me at first? Do you think I'm going to let you drive in your condition?" her voice was still indignant.

"What condition? And what about my car?"

"I'll have Mai drop it off after school," she was towing me back towards her bike now, pulling me by my jacket. She hopped onto her bike scooting up for some space behind her.

"You sure are pushy."

"Get on."

I didn't answer. I was mentally calculating my chances of reaching my car before she can catch me. And the chance doesn't look to good.

"I'll just drag you back," she threatened, guessing my plan.

I sighed and I hopped onto the bike. Natsuki started the engine and it roared to life. I gripped Natsuki waist when she started driving out of the parking lot. She started speeding once we got out, the town was flashing by, and I couldn't really see it.

"What is your mother like?" she asked me suddenly.

I looked over her shoulders. "She looks a lot like me, except for the eyes." I said. She raised her eyebrows. "She's more outgoing than me. She's irresponsible and slightly eccentric." I stopped.

"How old are you, Shizuru?" Her voice sounded frustrated for some reason I couldn't imagine. Before I knew it we were already at my house.

"I'm seventeen."

"You don't seem seventeen." Her tone was reproachful; it made me laugh. "So why did your mother marry Ryo?"

I was surprised she would remember the name; I'd mentioned it just once, almost two months ago.

"My mother, she's very young for her age. I think Ryo makes her feel younger."

"Do you approve?" she asked.

"I don't think that really matters. I want her to be happy." I said as I got off.

"That's very generous, I wonder." She mused.

"What?"

"Would she extend the same courtesy to you, do you think? No matter what your choice was?" She was suddenly intent, her eyes searching in mine,

"I think so, but she's the parent, after all. It's a little different."

"No one too scary then," she teased.

"What do you mean? Multiple facial piercing and extensive tattoos?"

"That's one definition, I suppose."

"What's your definition?" I asked.

But she ignored my question and asked me another. "Do you think that I could be scary?" She raised one eyebrow, and a faint trace of a smile lightened her face.

"You could be, if you want to." I admitted.

"Are you frightened of me now?" The smile vanished, and her heavenly face was suddenly serious.

"No." I answered quite quickly. The smile returned. "So, now are you going to tell me about your family?" I asked to distract him. "It's got to be a more interesting story than mine."

She was instantly cautious. "What do you want to know?"

"Sagisawa-sensei adopted you?" I verified.

"Yes."

I hesitated for a moment. "What happened to your parents?"

"They died many years ago." Her tone was matter-of-fact.

"I'm sorry." I mumbled

"I don't remember them that clearly. Yoko has been my parent for a long time now."

"And your brothers and sisters?"

She glanced at her watch.

"My brothers and sisters are probably waiting for me right now in the parking lot.And you probably want your car back before your dad gets back home."

"Oh, sorry, I guess you have to go."

"So, I will see you tomorrow?"

"No. Mai and I are starting the weekend early."

"What are you going to do?"

"Hiking in that mountain." Natsuki said while pointing towards the mountain in the opposite direction.

I remember father saying that they like to go camping.

"Will you make it back in time for Saturday?"

"Yes, See you on Saturday."

Natsuki weaved her bike around and drove back towards school. I could see she was still smiling as she drove away.

* * *

A/N: long enough? It took me awhile to type it all out and getting it proof read it by my cousin. It looked like he made it longer. Well hope you guys enjoyed it. Comments are greatly apperciated. Chapter 5 will come out as soon as I am done with it. I don't know if it will be as long or longer or shorter than this. depending on my mood. 


	6. Chapter 5

Hey thanks to all you reviewers! Sorry for the very VERY late update. Well here is chapter 5.

* * *

I tried my best to concentrate on my History paper, but I was really listening for my car. I would have thought I could have heard the engine's roar. But when I looked out my window, my car was already parked in front of my house.

When I woke up, I wasn't really looking forward in going to school knowing Natsuki wouldn't be there. I got ready and headed towards the kitchen to make my breakfast. Father was already sitting in his chair drinking his tea and reading the newspaper.

"Good morning Shizuru."

"Good morning father."

I went over to the counter and started making myself a cup of tea and some toast. I sat down on my chair, eating my toast and drinking my tea. I remembered that I was suppose to go shopping with Yayoi, Sayuri, Chie, and Aoi at Fuka mall.

"Father, I will be going out later tonight."

"Hm? On a school night? Where to?"

"Fuka mall. Some of my friends are going to buy their dress for the dance this Saturday."

"I thought you weren't going to the dance."

"I'm not, but my friends would like my opinion on which dress would look better on them."

"I see… Well don't stay out to late."

"I won't."

I got up and put my cup and plate in the sink and grabbed my bag and headed out the door.

"Have a greet day at school."

"Thank you father."

I got into my car and the keys were in the ignitions already. I started the car and headed towards school. I parked my car as usual and headed towards class. Everything was normal, teachers were giving us lectures and I was copying notes. Nothing unusual happened.

When it was lunch break, I walked over to where I unusually sit. I sat next to Sayuri and listened to what they were saying. Once in awhile I would glance over to where Natsuki's family was, hoping she would be there. Thinking about Natsuki reminded me about our plans this Saturday, our trip to downtown.

"Fujino-san?"

"I looked over to Yayoi who called me. "Yes?"

"Are you okay?"

"Yes, why do you ask?"

"Well, we were calling you for awhile now, wondering if you were still coming with us."

"Yes, I already informed my father I was going to go shopping afterschool."

"Okay, since we're all going we can just take one car."

"Let's take my car." Chie offered.

"Sure, we should drop our car at our house, than Chie can pick us up." Yayoi suggested.

"Okay." Everyone agreed.

The lunch bell rang and everyone got up and headed towards their next class. Everything was the same except Natsuki wasn't there. Now school was over I drove back home and waited for Chie to pick me up. Just one more day until I get to see Natsuki. I heard a honk outside my house and I grabbed my purse and walked out locking the front dorr. Chie already picked up Aoi, Sayuri, and Yayoi.

Chie drove pretty fast and we got there in 30 minutes. In the car we were talking about the dresses they were thinking of buying and the guys they were taking to the dance.

Fuka mall wasn't that big compared to the malls I went in Kyoto, but it was better than nothing. Everyone in the car, except me knew this place pretty well, so they didn't waste little time window shopping and headed towards the dress store.

The dance was semi-formal, so no one really knew what to wear. They were surprised when I told them I never went to a dance back in Kyoto.

"You never went out with a boy before?" Yayoi asked.

"No, no one really asked me out."

That was obvious lie, I had people ask me out plenty of times but I never accepted and I don't feel like telling them.

"People ask you out here," Sayuri reminded me, "and you say no."

We were now in the junior section, scanning the racks for dress up clothes.

"Well maybe except Arika-chan." Said Chie, who was helping Aoi choosing a dress.

"Excuse me?"

"Arika-chan said she was taking you to the prom."

"Arika said that?" I was stunned.

"See, I told you it wasn't true, Chie." Aoi murmured to Chie.

"Seems, like Arika-chan really likes you Fujino-san." Said Yayoi.

I didn't say anything; I was busy thinking of a plan to stop this rumor from reaching Natsuki's ears. When everyone finally got what they wanted, we all decided to go eat at the new ramen restaurant that opened a couple weeks ago. We went back to Chie's car and she drove us to the restaurant. On our way there, I've noticed there was a bookstore nearby. When we got out of the car, I told them that I would be going to check out a bookstore that was close by. They were willingly to come with me, but I encouraged them to go on in without me.

When I got to the bookstore, it wasn't exactly what I was looking for. The windows were full of books about spiritual stuff, tarot cards, and reading one's future. I didn't bother going in so I decide to just walk around the street for awhile, thinking about Natsuki. I wasn't paying much attention to where I was going until I realized I was getting further away from the restaurant. I turned around and walked back toward the restaurant.

A group of four men turned around the corner, laughing and punching watch other in the arm. I tried to walk as far to the inside of the sidewalk as I could, hoping they wouldn't notice me.

"Hey there!" one of the man called as they passed me. I looked up and mumbled "Hello." Then I quickly looked away and walked faster. I could hear them laughing at full volume behind me.

"Hey, wait!" one of them called after me again, but I kept walking and rounded the corner with a sigh of relief. I found myself in an ally way. I'd wandered past the part of Fuuka that I, as a guest, was intended to see. I looked up at the sky and it was getting dark, the clouds creating an early sunset. I'd left my jacket in the car, and a sudden shiver made me cross my arms tightly across my chest.

The sky suddenly darkened, and as I looked over my shoulder, I noticed that two men were walking quietly behind me. They were from the same group I'd passed before I turned the corner, though neither of them were the one who talked to me. I quickened my pace, and felt a chill which made me shiver, and it wasn't due to the weather. I slung my purse across my body, so it wouldn't be snatched. I knew exactly where my pepper spray was, it was still in one of my unpacked bags.

I listened intently to their footsteps, which was much too quiet compared to the boisterous noise they'd been making earlier, and it didn't sound like they were speeding up or getting closer to me. I continued walking quickly as I could without actually running, focusing on the right hand turn that was only a few feet away.

I reached the corner and ended on another sidewalk. The street ended at the next corner, where there was a stop sign. I made a quick glance behind me and noticed the two guys were further away from me but they were both still staring at me.

It seemed to take forever for me to get to the corner. I kept my pace steady; the men behind me were falling further behind with every step. I saw two cars going pass the stop sign, and I exhaled in relief, knowing there would be more people around. I was about to reach the corner when I skidded to a stop.

There, I saw two figures coming out of the shadows. They both stared at me with excited smiles as I froze on the sidewalk. I realized then that I wasn't being followed. I was being herded. I paused for only a second, but it felt like a very long time. I turned and darted to the other side of the road. The footsteps behind me were louder now.

"There you are!" The booming voice of the stocky, dark-haired man.

"Yeah," a voice called loudly from behind me, making me turned around. "We just took a little detour."

I stood there watching them come closer to me. I had a good loud scream, and I sucked in air, preparing to use it, but my throat was so dry I wasn't sure how much volume I could manage. I slipped my purse over my head, gripping the strap with one hand, ready to surrender it or use it as a weapon as need demanded.

"Stay away from me," I warned in a voice that was supposed to sound strong and fearless.

"Don't be like that, baby," said the thickest man of the bunch, and laughter started again.

I steadied myself, trying to remember through my panic what self defense I knew. Heel of the hand thrust upward, hopefully breaking the nose or shoving it into the brain. Finger through the eye socket, try to hook around and pop the eye out. And the standard knee to the groin of course. I wasn't going to give them what they want without a fight.

As they got closer, headlights suddenly flew around the corner, the vehicle almost hitting the stocky one, forcing him to jump back toward the sidewalk. I dove into the road; this vehicle was going to stop or have to hit me. I shield my eyes from the headlights, and seeing that the vehicle wasn't slowing down I braced myself for the impact. As I braced myself the vehicle skidded to a stop right next to me. I looked next to me and saw it was 'the' motorcycle

"Get on," a furious voice commanded.

It was amazing how instantaneously the choking fear vanished, amazing how suddenly the feeling of security washed over me as soon as I heard her voice. I jumped onto the motorcycle and gripped onto the driver. The tires squealed as she spun around, accelerating too quickly, swerving toward the stunned men on the street. I caught a glimpse of them diving for safety.

"Hold on tight," she commanded. I quickly obeyed, she took a sharp left, racing forward, blowing through several stop signs without a pause.

But I felt utterly safe and, for the moment, totally unconcerned about where we are going. I tried to stare at her face, but she was wearing a helmet. However, I can still see her expression was murderously angry.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

"No," she said curtly, and her tone was livid.

I just held onto her, watching her while she just stared straight ahead, until the bike came to a complete stop. I glanced around and saw we were in front of the new ramen restaurant where Chie and the other's were.

"Shizuru?" she asked, her voice tight, controlled.

"Yes?"

"Are you all right?" She still didn't look at me, but fury was plain in her eyes.

"Yes," I croaked softly.


	7. Chapter 6

A/N: Hey guys sorry for the very VERY late update. I've been very unmotivated with my recent stories. Because of my long LONG absence in submitting a chapter/story, I don't think there will be much people still reading this. Anyways I know, I know, this too damn short. and i did promise longer chapters, but I've been really unmotivated. Hahah anyways enough of my excuses. Please continue on reading.

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"Mind telling me what you were doing around that area?" Natsuki asked.

"I was looking for a bookstore, hey weren't you suppose to be out of town today?"

I felt her body stiffen when I said that. There was silence between us and it was getting a little awkward. I was about to say something but then Chie and Aoi came out.

"Hey, Shizuru!" shouted Chie.

I turned my head towards them and Natsuki motioned me to get off. I got off carefully so I wouldn't fall flat on my face.

"Hello, chie-san Aoi-san." I greeted.

"Shizuru-san, you were taking a long time, so we decided to come and look for you." Stated Aoi.

"Hey, there Kuga-san." Said Chie.

Natsuki just nodded towards them, then looked towards me.

"I'll see you around Shizuru."

With that said, she straddled her bike and rode off. We just stood there watching her ride off.

"Wonder what Kuga-san was doing here. Wasn't she supposes to be out of town with her family?" Wondered Aoi.

"Let's go in, we don't want yayoi-san and sayuri-san to wait any longer." I said as I walked back into the restaurant.

We went back into the restaurant and sat with Sayuri and Yayoi. We all ordered our meal together. While we ate, Chie decided to talk about how Natsuki was outside at first.

"Kuga-san seems to have taken a liking to you"

"Hmm?" I said as I looked up at her.

"I've never seen anyone riding with her besides her family before."

"Well, you probably just never saw her ride with someone else. I'm sure Natsuki gives rides to other people."

"Maybe you are right, or maybe she has taken a liking to you." Said Chie.

"Chie, don't put Shizuru-san on the spot like that." Whispered Aoi.

"it's okay, Aoi-san." I said.



"Oh, sorry Shizuru-san. I didn't mean to put you on the spot like that. I was just curious, that's all."

"It's okay. Ara, look at the time. It's getting late. We should head back soon. We still have to go to school tomorrow."

"Yes, are you all finished?" asked sayuri.

"Come on I'll pay." Offered Chie.

After Chie paid for all of us, we walked back to Chie's car. The ride back home didn't take as long as the ride towards Downtown. I waved them good-bye from my door step and watched as Chie drove away. I opened the door and walked into my home. Father was still awake in the living room, watching the news. I guess he was waiting for me to get home before he fell asleep.

"Welcome back, Shizuru."

"Thanks dad."

"How was your shopping trip?" he asked.

"It was fun. I'm going to bed. I'm a little wiped out."

"okay, good night honey."

"Good night."

I walked into my room and fell down onto my bed. I was too tired to change into my sleepwear after what I went through today. I just lay on my bed staring up at my ceiling, thinking. I don't know when I fell asleep I don't even know if I'm dreaming right now. I saw a pair of pale hands coming towards me, touching me, hugging me tightly making me feel safe. The hands, they feel cold, but it's the kind of cold that makes me want more of it.

Bright. It's too bright. I slowly opened my eyes and turned my head towards the window. It wasn't bright outside; this is Fuuka we're talking about. Finally I've noticed that the brightness wasn't coming from outside, but from my very own room. The lights were on. I don't remember turning on the light. I slowly got up from my bed and saw my father standing in the door way.

"Morning, honey. It's time to get up."

"Thanks dad."

Father left my room and closed the door behind him. I got out of bed and went towards my closet. I looked at myself in the mirror and saw that I was wearing my sleepwear. How is this possible? Did I unconsciously change my clothes? The pair of hands I saw. Were they real than? I heard my father yelling from the stairs, saying he's leaving for work. I hurriedly changed my clothes and went down to get my breakfast.

"Dad, did you go into my room yesterday night?" I asked.



"No, why? Are you missing something in your room?" He asked worriedly.

"No, nothing was missing. I was just asking."

"Well, okay. I'm going to work now."

He walked over to me and kissed me on my cheek. "Have a good day, dad."

"Thanks."

I sat at the table and ate my breakfast. Who was that in my room last night? Who changed my clothes for me? Those hand, they were cold but in a good way. I looked at the time and saw I only got 10 minutes left before school started. I hurriedly put the bowls into the sink and got my bag and went out to my mustang. I started the car and drove towards school. I parked at my usual spot. I looked around to see if Natsuki was at school yet, but I didn't see her bike. I guess she won't be here today either.

As I walked to class I noticed everyone was really excited about the dance tonight. I'm also excited but not because of the dance but because I'm able to see natsuki later today, whither she comes to school or not, unless something happens.

I went to class as usual; I couldn't really join in into my friend's conversation because they were talking about where to meet up for the dance. When lunch time came I went and sat with Chie and them. I set down my food as I sat down, but I felt someone's hand on my shoulder. I looked over and I saw her looking at me with those emerald eyes.

"Hey, Shizuru." She greeted with her deep voice.

"Hi, natsuki." I greeted back.

Everyone at the table stopped what they were doing and just watched us. Natsuki grinned and turned towards my friends.

"You mind if I steal her away from you guys?" She asked.

"Hey Kuga-san, I don't think we mind at all. Wisk her away if you like." Said chie with a smirk.

"Come on Shizuru, let's go eat outside." Natsuki suggested, and pulled me after her.

I could feel everyone watching us leaving the cafeteria together. When I looked back I saw natsuki's family staring at me with the coldness eye's I've seen that I felt a shiver down my spine.

When we reached outside, Natsuki led me to a bench and sat. I sat next to her, not knowing what to say. There was silence between us. Then I remembered my lunch was still in the cafeteria. I was about to say something but Natsuki pushed a tray of food onto my lap.

"Here, eat."



"What about you?" I asked.

"I'm fine. I'm not hungry at the moment." Again she smirked at what she had just said like it was some kind of a joke.

I took the apple that was on the tray and took a bite. Again there was silence. Both of us didn't say anything to each other. I would steal small quick glances at her, while she would just stare straight ahead of us.

"So, Natsuki. What are we doing tonight?" I asked

"About that shizuru."

"What is it?" I asked.

"I have a family thing going on tonight that I can't get out of."

"Oh." I said. That was all I could say. When I was looking forward to hanging out with natsuki.

'I'll make it up to you. How about next week?"

"Well, next week I'm going to Fuuka Beach with Aoi and them."

"The day after that. I promise and this time it won't get broken." She said, now turned to me.

"Oh, it's okay. I guess we can go next week." I said, a little disappointed. Now what was I going to do tonight.

Then the lunch bell rang and I got up with the tray of food. I was about to walk to the trash to dump it but natsuki took the tray away from me before I knew it.

"I'll get that. You go to class. I'll meet up with you in class."

"Why don't I just wait for you? We have the same class."

"Uhh…No that's fine. I need to talk to my family." She said and pointed behind her. I didn't even notice when they were standing near us.

"Okay, I'll see you in class than." I said and turned around and started walking to class. I turned around and natsuki was already where her family was and was talking to them. It looked like they weren't agreeing on something because they all didn't look all too happy.

When I got to class, Chie and Aoi came up to my table and sat near me.

"Shizuru-san, what happened?" asked Aoi.

"Ara. Nothing much, we just ate lunch together."

"Really? You don't look all that happy after having lunch with the famous Kuga." Said Chie.

"Yea, I would be jumping with joy if I had lunch with Kuga-san." Said aoi.



"Oh, what about me? I feel a little hurt." Said Chie, who playfully pouted.

"Oh, I'm always happy when I'm with you, chie." Reassured Aoi.

"So, what are your plans today with Kuga-san?" asked Chie.

"Well, I'm not re-"

"Okay, everyone go to you seats! Class is about to start." Shouted the teacher.

Chie and Aoi went back to their seats and shortly after Natsuki came in after the teacher. She took her seat next to me. Again, she was sitting at the edge of her seat as far away from me as possible. I thought our relationship was good, what is going on. She is once again holding the edge of the table. I watched her with the corner of my right eye. I continue to watch her until class was over. I gathered my stuff and was about to call Natsuki but she was already gone. How was she able to leave class that quickly without anyone seeing her?

I gathered my stuff and left school. I didn't feel like going to my next class so I just told Chie and Aoi to tell the teacher that I went home not feeling all too well. They both hope I feel better and I said good-bye to them. I walked to my mustang, I pulled out my car keys and was about to open the driver's door when I felt a hand on my shoulder. The hand on my shoulder felt cold, could it be natsuki? I turned around and was greeted with two people. One with short orange hair with another girl hanging onto her with braids.

"Hello, Fujino-san." Greeted the orange haired girl.

"Hello." I greeted back.

"Hehe…My name is Tokiha Mai and this is Minagi Mikoto. Mikoto, greet Fujino-san too."

"Hi! Fujino-san." Greeted the girl with the braids with a smile on her face.

"Hello, Minagi-san. How can I help you two Tokiha-san?"

"I'm just here to apologize that Natsuki had to cancel on you. I offered to take her place for her, but I she declined."

"It's okay Tokiha-san. Thank you though for your concern."

"Since I feel bad, how about I help you out? I can see that you like Natsuki."

I blushed. Was it that obvious?

"Don't worry Fujino-san, it isn't that obvious. Hehehe. I can just 'see' how people feel. Anyways don't worry how I know, I just do. Okay, do you have Natsuki's phone number?"

"No." Though I wished I had. How could I not ask for her phone number?

"Okay, I'll give it to you and mine. Feel free to call me anytime, and Natsuki, I won't think she would mind at all."



Tokiha Mai gave me a piece of paper with her and Natsuki's phone number. I took out my phone and put in their numbers. When I finished Tokiha Mai said good bye along with Minagi Mikoto. I went into my care, still a little disappointed that Natsuki canceled on me at the last minute, but wow, Tokiha-san was friendly. I always thought that Natsuki's family didn't like me because they always seem to glare at me during lunch.

I started my car and headed back home. I guess for the rest of today, my plans will be doing homework and cleaning the house. What joy.

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Short indeed...Review please...


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